When asked to think of a famous brand most people might think of something like McDonald’s “Golden Arches”, The Nike “Swoosh”, or Disney’s “Magic Kingdom Castle”. While these logos might be the most visible and memorable part of a company’s brand, they are just a part. A brand is so much more than a memorable logo. McDonald’s, Nike, Disney, they all understand the secret of strong brands …a secret we are about to share.

A company’s brand is the communication of everything they are and stand for at every consumer touch point. And I do mean every touch point. From print ads to logos, radio jingles, letterhead, P-O-P displays, business cards and web-sites. Nothing can be left out of your branding system.


Consider this. When selling a business, the value is based on several factors. There is real estate, furniture, vehicles, inventory; lots of things that you might consider the business’ assets. However one of the most valuable assets any business has is often referred to as “Good Will” or “Blue Sky”. This is the intangible asset that really makes a business valuable. In other words, its BRAND.
Good Will consists of a variety of things. First and probably the most important is public perception and customer loyalty. That loyalty is built on an emotional bond between the consumer and what your business offers.

Your brand then has to embody everything that your customer’s emotional bond is built on. Let’s look again at Disney. When I think of the Magic Kingdom Castle, I remember family vacations as a child, I think of the Disney Sunday night movie we used to watch. I also think of all the videos and DVD’s my children watch today. There are lots of positive emotions and memories all tied up in that castle. Now that’s BRAND POWER!

“Well orchestrated brands have depth and richness. They are like personalities, in that the best of them are made interesting and beautiful by a unique blend of interesting and beautiful component parts. It is only in the harmony of the whole that the brand lives.”
Steve Yastrow
But you don’t have to be Disney to have such a strong emotional brand. What you do have to do is sit back and decide who you ARE and who you want to BE as a business. Your brand will evolve from that vision.
This is where branding companies enter the mix.

As a business that is looking to develop or refine a brand, there are an infinite number of artistic, graphics oriented companies out there who can create a fancy logo for you. However, your brand shouldn’t be just that logo. Branding specialists understand the process of creating a logo to reflect who you are, but also maintain that a logo is just a part of the whole. Michael Millhollen, the head designer at CVP Productions says, “your company should literally become your brand, and every aspect of your look, behavior and business philosophy should exude it.”

Understanding that a logo is a reflection of your organization’s personality and designing an entire branding system to best communicate that personality is the secret that companies like McDonald’s, Nike, and Disney master. They know that designing and implementing a brand is the secret to developing strong brands. These large companies employ their own branding experts. But branding experts are available to small companies as well. Engaging a branding firm to help you design and implement your brand is a small company’s way to capitalize on the secret of strong brands- the secret McDonald’s, Nike, and Disney have known for years. For help or more information on branding discover www.zuzugroup.com David has extensive experience in account management and sales. He works as Operations Manager and Account Representative with ZUZUGroup Branding and Design, a small creative branding firm in Central Minnesota committed to helping businesses and nonprofit organizations create their own brand power.